Wang Zizhi, the word Xianmiao, is a native of Gou, Henan Province. He often traveled between the capital and Luoyang. The old people said, “For more than fifty years, he has never seen him grow old, and his form always looks like a man in his forties, so I don’t know how old he really is. He was good at keeping his breath and liked wine.” In the early years of the late Pu Shuai Luang Ya Gong Chong Ying, Zi Zi Zhi lived in Zi Ji Gong, the magistrate treated him very well, and heard that he liked to drink wine, and brought wine for him three times a day.
One day when he was out, he met a woodcutter who was carrying a load in front of Ziji Palace, and his appearance was unusual. So he bought his firewood and paid him more for it, but when the woodcutter got the money, he went away without giving up. Wang Zi Zhi sent someone to follow him secretly to find out where he was going. The woodcutter went straight to the hotel, drank happily, and returned to his heart’s content. Soon he came again, and Wang Zi Zhi said to him, “I know you like to drink wine, and I have a fine wine with a rich taste from the magistrate, so how about using it to pay for the price of firewood?” The woodcutter said, “Yes.” After drinking just a few cups, the woodcutter said to Zi Zi, “This is a good wine. However, it is still far from the wine of Shih’s in Xie County. I have just come from there, and I regret that I had no wine companion just now, so I could not taste it to my heart’s content.” Wang Zi Zhi then held the woodcutter’s hand and drank wine with him around the stove. Wang Zi Zhi asked the woodcutter, “May I get Shi’s fine wine?” The woodcutter nodded his head, and let him take a pen of vermilion sand, write a charm, and put it on the fire; and before the smoke went out, a little boy stood before him. The woodcutter instructed him: “You lead the servant of the venerable master Wang, carrying these two jars of wine, and go to the Shi Family to get the wine, I want to get drunk with the venerable master Wang.”
It was already dark, and the door was bolted. The boy said to Wang Zi’s servant, “You may close your eyes.” So he put his hand on his head, and both the man and the wine jug went out through the gap in the door, and when the servant opened his eyes, he had already arrived in Xixian and returned with wine. The woodcutter and Zi Zi drank happily. In the middle of the night, the woodcutter said to Zi Zi, “I am already drunk. May I ask a guest to drink with you?” Wang Zi Zhi said, “Yes.” The woodcutter wrote another talisman with a pen and put it on the fire. In the blink of an eye, the room was full of strange fragrance, then came in a man, dignified and generous instrument, clear eyebrows, purple belt hanging down around the waist, holding a book in his hand, bowed to the woodcutter and sat down. After two rounds of wine, the two jars of wine are about to run out. The woodcutter burned an iron chopstick, branded the man in purple and said, “It’s Time to go.” It was already dawn in the east, and each of them said goodbye with their hands. The woodcutter said to Zi Zi, “Do you know the man in purple? Later, you can go to the River God Temple to take a look.” Wang Zi Zhi sent the woodcutter away and went to the temple, and saw that the person with whom they drank together at night turned out to be the god of the temple. The brand of iron chopsticks was still vaguely present.
Zhao Jun Lang was at the Shogunate at the time and witnessed the incident. Su Yue, the schoolmaster of Hongwenkan, also resided in Zhongjiao and was very familiar with the story. Later, when Zi Zi met the Woodcutter Immortal again, the Woodcutter Immortal taught Zi Zi the secrets of cultivation, and later Zi Zi cultivated to become an Earth Immortal.
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